PART 1 - Development Of Creative Thought And Structure In Illustration And Graphic Art

Key principles

Overcoming Mindset
Getting Rid Of Assumption


Development Of Creative Thought And Structure In Illustration And Graphic Art

I have found that over the years, as I have learnt how to be freely creative, I open myself up to being able to learn new skills everywhere; through education, observation and training I can begin to develop my abilities until I am satisfied with my personal style. However, staying creative means being able to constantly think of new ideas that aim to be original, unique, eye catching.

Overcoming Mindset

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX...

Not all people have the ability to think freely, I sometimes find myself doubting my own abilities and keeping my ideas under developed, when I should be exploring every possible option when considering an idea. Being able to think freely and overcome a difficult mindset allows the designer to insert an element of surprise or something unusual into your work, something to make it appeal to the customer. Sometimes breaking the rules makes room for a phenomenal work of art.

Overcoming Mindset - 3 step rule

- Think about rules you would like to break.

-Find ways to challenge or change the rules.

-Be playful/ free yourself from conventions and preconceptions.

Visual metaphors

'French Aids Campaign'






Above I have inserted two images I found online from a French STI awareness campaign. The images are very provocative and quite disturbing but would definitely capture the viewer's attention pretty quickly.
In the images shown, the metaphor is simple:
Unprotected Sex is 'like' being in bed with a venomous arachnid. Scary, shocking and Disgusting but Effective. It is the emotional hook that people will grab onto and connect with.


Getting Rid Of Assumption

I find that the final piece is always excellent if you choose to approach a problem with an open mind, and experimenting with different ideas, exploring the best way to showcase your findings. I believe that the best way to generate ideas is by creating an initial brainstorm/ mind map or simply creating 'doodles' on a blank piece of paper, I have inserted an image I found of this type of 'doodling' below.








Si Scott






Si Scott is an artist who has inspired me for years, recently I have become almost obsessed with typography and I am always trying to recreate Scott's pieces. His attention to detail and steady hand amazes me because Si Scott is such an influential and well known artist but he prefers to works using only pencil and fine liners and then simply touching up his work on the computer.

I feel most comfortable drawing by hand, I think that I find computer software quite daunting and scary, so the fact that such a talented artist like Scott is comfortable sticking to the techniques he knows best, inspires me to work to improve my drawing abilities and personal style.

Si Scott's work is always very unique and eye catching, many people love the fact that you never know what to expect with his designs. They are so detailed yet so delicate and amazing.

PART 1 - Development Of Ideas And Structure In Moving Image..

Key Principles

Story Development = (Three Act Structure)
Story Development = (The Heroes Journey)


All films are required to be structured into three sections; the beginning, the middle and the end, same as a good book. Following this layout creates a storyline for the viewer to follow and each section usually features a major role in the film. For example;
beginning - introduce middle - action/drama end - all things come to a head




Beginning
- the story is established
- scene is set
- main characters are introduced
- slight insight into background stories

Middle
- the action begins
- a problem arises
- possible mission/ journey/ task
- something new happens, maybe a new character is introduced?

End
- problem is resolved
- celebration?
- main characters together
- possible change in atmosphere

Three Act Structure


A three act structure requires a protagonist, (a main character), to be one of the main focus' in the film; the center of all of the drama and action. As the beginning of the film ends, the main character makes a decision that leads to the action seen in the middle. When a film is split into three parts there are also several stories going on at the same time, this may be two characters falling in love, searching for a lost companion or discovering something they never knew, these small stories give the overall story more depth and allot the viewer to have more insight into the storyline and feel more involved in the film.

The Heroes Journey




Beginning

A modern take on the fairytale classic, Rapunzel; an old with steals the young princes and raises her as her own, keeping her close because Rapunzel's glorious hair is magical and can stop ageing and bring back the old hag's youthful looks. Rapunzel dreams of going outside, and seeing the famous lantern festival, she is unaware that every year her birth parents release thousands of lit lanterns hoping that she will return to the kingdom safely. However, her 'mother' never allows Rapunzel to go outside and she has spent her entire life in a tower. On her 18th birthday, Rapunzel asks her 'mother', Gothel if she could leave the tower just once, to visit the floating lanterns but Gothel denies her request, stating that the outside world is too dangerous.

Middle

Whilst Rapunzel is locked inside her tower a small group of thieves led by a young vagrant named Flynn Rider steal the tiara of the missing princess and are chased by the kingdom's guards. During the chase, Flynn ditches his accomplices and takes the tiara for himself unaware that the lead guard's horse, Maximus is hot on his trail. Flynn stumbles across Rapunzel's tower and decides to use it as a hideout. Once he climbs inside the tower Flynn is knocked unconscious by Rapunzel who hides him and his satchel before Gothel returns.

When Gothel returns, Rapunzel says that she wants a special paint for her birthday instead of visiting the floating lanterns; Gothel leaves for a three-day journey to bring the gift. Then Rapunzel makes a deal with Flynn — a journey to the "lights" in exchange for the tiara.
After escaping from a tavern full of the king's guards Rapunzel and Flynn find themselves trapped in a flooding cave where Flynn gets injured but, fortunately, using Rapunzel's glowing hair, they find a way out. Later around a campfire, Rapunzel heals Flynn's cut with her magic hair, and they talk about their lives. When Flynn goes off to gather more firewood, Gothel appears and tells Rapunzel that Flynn just wants the tiara so, giving her the satchel, she tells Rapunzel to test Flynn before he leaves.

The next morning, Maximus confronts Flynn, but Rapunzel befriends the horse to Flynn's dismay. The group arrives at the royal kingdom and, that night, Flynn takes Rapunzel to see the lanterns. There, Rapunzel returns Flynn his satchel. Flynn sees his former accomplices and so he leaves Rapunzel waiting at the boat as he gives them the tiara back. However, the pair knock him out, tie him on a boat and sail him across the lake. They reveal Flynn's "betrayal" to Rapunzel before trying to kidnap her in knowledge of her hair's power, but Gothel "rescues" her and they return to the tower. Later, Flynn is arrested and sentenced to death. Maximus brings a group of friendly thugs to rescue Flynn and they both flee to the tower.

End

From various clues she finds during her adventure, Rapunzel realizes that she is the long-lost princess and attempts to escape from the tower and from Gothel. Gothel ties her up and when Flynn arrives she stabs him. Rapunzel promises to keep fighting her unless she allows her to heal Flynn's wound. Gothel agrees but Flynn cuts Rapunzel's hair short with a piece of broken mirror. Rapunzel's hair turns brown and loses its magic before she heals him. Gothel rapidly begins to age; while in a delirious situation, she trips and falls from the tower turning into dust. Flynn slowly dies in Rapunzel's arms; as she cries over his body and sings the final verse of her healing song, a teardrop, filled with the flower's magic, lands on his cheek and revives him. Back at the kingdom the royal family has a tearful reunion; the king and queen pull Flynn into their embrace for returning their daughter to them. Years after, Flynn and Rapunzel are married, the pub thugs fulfill their individual dreams and Maximus becomes a respected official on the Royal Guard.

PART 2 - Too much information..

As today's society has become very materialistic and modernized it is important to be able to express your work freely and confidently. Luckily there are so many different ways to communicate information and spread a message to a specific target audience; from posters and billboards to TV advertisements and website promotions. As the mobile phone technology develops, phones such as Blackberry's and iPhones are equipped with new applications that promote and advertise different products and events. On a daily basis we are all exposed to a complete overload of information in many different medias. However, we are used to seeing a lot of advertisements so we don't really pay much attention unless something really jumps out and grabs the viewers attention. We subconsciously register all of the adverts and signs we see on a daily basis so we recognize each advertisement and promotional product sold.

The question I aim to answer is; how much information is TOO much... the majority of campaigns today and use a range of different multimedia techniques that enables them to broadcast their advertisement to a wider audience which increases the chance that their message gets through to their target audience with more ease.




I found the image above using the Google search engine, I think that it is an excellent explanation of the internet's information overload. It also shows that many people feel the strains of an information overload. Some say that the continual overload of information will cause problems in society in the future, I am not sure I agree with that theory but I can understand why many people do.

I believe that one of the main concerns I think could go wrong with the information overload is to create a sensory overload.

Sensory overload = is a condition where one or more of the senses are strained and it becomes difficult to focus on the task at hand







I think that because the majority of the public are so used to seeing thousands of advertisements where ever they go, they will eventually become used to the adverts they come into contact with. This would begin to cause a lack of response throughout the target audience which basically registers the advertisement and graphics more or less useless.

I believe that over the years a fear of initiating a sensory overload has caused most advertisements and promotions to be very eye catching and as entertaining and appealing as possible. Most companies are in competition when trying to advertise their products because their target audience would be very similar to each other.

However, I believe that the internet is an excellent invention because you can learn absolutely anything at the click of a button; and at the moment I believe that even though the majority of adverts are exaggerated and over the top, we are not yet at risk of having a sensory overload. I do not think it is wrong to use the internet as a means of research and information because I have found that computer research has aided my learning and progress in every project.



On the other hand, even though the internet is an excellent source of research and information, there are many websites that are very misinformed so you have to ensure to check several different references so you do not risk finding an opinion online and using it as a fact in your work.

The information overload is not just a concern over the internet, every day I find numerous promotional flyers and cards in my porch and receive at least one cold call from a sales company that are trying to sell my some sort of product over the phone. Junk mail is becoming a growing problem because you can never be too sure what counts as junk mail. The majority of flyers and leaflets that come through my door go straight in the bin because they cause an unnecessary clutter, however; my email account is always bombarded with hundreds of junk emails daily. Some invite me to make thousands in minutes, others tell me that I have won some new, amazing prize and I mist click immediately to receive it, the majority of them are trying to sell something. I tend to ignore all junk emails because I get scared that if I open the wrong one, a virus would infect my computer and damage my hard drive..(which it has before.)

PART 2 - The rules of designs..

“Advertising is fundamentally persuasion and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art.” - Bill Bernbach

In advertising not to be different is virtually suicidal. - Bill Bernbach


The quotes above explains that one of the most important things about advertising; that one of the main aims is to persuade the customer to purchase the product, using appealing advertising and a catchy strap line. The second quote explains that the most appealing advertising is usually the most different and unique style. Using Si Scott as an example; Scott's technique and style amazes and inspires me to develop my personal style. Scott's designs are very unusual and I find myself drawn into the image to study the detail in the design. I feel that I personally pay more attention to advertisements that grab my attention as I'm passing, something that makes me stop to have a closer look.


I also believe tat it is important to connect with your target audience, customers tend to respond more to an advert that releases some sort of emotion or feeling which means that there is a better chance that the advertisement actually got through to the customer and made them think.

There are countless rules to remember when it comes to design but I have found that the majority of artists and designers believe that the most important rule is not being afraid to break a rule when necessary. This allows the designer to think outside of the box, explore every option when creating new ideas, even if the outcome is quite shocking or seductive because most people take more notice when a designer begins to be creatively unique and pushes all boundaries.






An excellent example of the daring side of advertising is the NHS advertisement campaigns. Above I have inserted an image taken from the NHS 'hooked' campaign, this advert was designed to shock people and grab their attention and I believe that it has definitely succeeded there. The image itself is very graphic and quite disturbing because it looks very painful. Many people would be draw to the advertisement based on the image alone because it is quite repulsing but you can't look away.




Above I have inserted another advertisement from the NHS smoking campaigns, I believe that this image is also created to shock the viewer, but on a more emotional level as it involves a young child. I also feel that another possible target audience for this sort of advertisement is mothers, particularly mothers who smoke. Although this advertisement isn't gruesome or disturbing in a scary horrific way, it is disturbing in the sense that such a young child is affected and harmed by second hand smoke. This type of advertisement would evoke a more emotional response from the viewers because young children are so delicate, innocent and vulnerable.



Another interesting NHS campaign was to promote awareness about sexual health and STI's. Above I have inserted one of these advertisements, I believe that although the idea and design is quite simplistic it is disturbing enough to capture the viewers attention and possibly gain awareness. I think that it is quite disturbing to see a tag stitched onto the skin, labeling you with an STI for everyone to see. I feel like many women would see this advertisement and at a first glance they would see the male models muscular body and probably decide to take a second look. Only on closer inspection they would notice the tag and understand the main concept of the advertisement campaign.

PART 2 - Technology and Design

Today's technology is beginning to be associated highly when designing a new piece of work; there are so many adobe design software programs designed to aide and develop sketches. I find that by scanning and working digitally on a sketch/ drawing the quality and depth of the final image looks a lot more professional and clean. Computer technology allows us to clean up an image and add special effects and edit it in many ways.


Design and technology are one and the same in today's society, whether its watching and broadcasting a new viral advert or noticing promotional campaigns for a new car. There are several different ways technology helps people showcase their creative development, ideas and work online which allows the work to be seen by the public and whoever is interested.


I have found that as an artist the first and main thing I tend to look at are different ways of communicating to a specific target audience. The ways of communicating grows every day which means that there is a wide range, thats growing, of mediums and medias one can use to show progress an development.
Taking, for example the re-branding of a make up product that doesn't test on animals and is suitable for a female target audience,



I am learning how to use different design software at the moment and when I was asked to create this poster advertising a product that did not test on animals my group and I decided that it was best to try and keep the design quite simplistic. I mainly used Photoshop to create this piece but as I am beginning to learn about more Graphic Design software I do believe that Adobe InDesign and Illustrator would have enabled me to create interesting types of design work.

Viral advertisements are quickly becoming one of the newest and most popular forms of advertising and broadcasting a message across to the viewing public. Many of these advertisements gain fame by being posted and shared on websites like YouTube and Facebook; these type of ads also get recognition by word of mouth depending on how popular the advert is. The majority of viral advertisements are comical or designed to shock the viewers, whether it involves impossible stunts or disturbing themes and images which sort of seduces the viewer into paying attention. Designed to shock the viewers into watching the advertisements and maybe even re-posting it, which helps get customers excited about the product/ campaign in question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB3NPNM4xgo

Above I have posted the link the the T-mobile 'Welcome home' viral advertisement because I think it is very catchy and memorable. Whenever I hear the song, I immediately think of T-mobile, which is exactly what the company wanted; for the customers to be reminded of the network every time they see the advertisement or hear the song.

PART 2 - Semiotics

Semiotics - The theory and study of signs and symbols, especially as elements of language or other systems of communication, and comprising semantics, syntactics, and pragmatics.


Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols, focusing specifically as a way to communicate using language and images. I have learnt that understanding the depth of semiotics is a very important aspect when trying to understand Graphic Design. It allows you to learn how to develop your problem solving skills to deal with problems that you will constantly encounter on the journey to becoming a designer.




We encounter a large amount of signs on a day to day basis, you can't really avoid them either, from road signs, to street signs and even shop logos and symbols. In today's society the thousands of signs and symbols and registered and understood as a sort of second nature to us.



Signs play a major role in every day life because we use them to do everything, they tell us where we can go, direct us to shops and stores, and they also help ensure our safety without having to read tons of writing; just by looking at a symbol you subconsciously register what the sign means.

PART 2 - Google It...

The internet is an amazing source of information which is growing every day. The vast majority of people today will turn to the internet as their first stage in many research projects because you can find pretty much anything on the internet.
The google search engine is easily one of the most well known sources of information; one simple search subject can receive thousands of results that aim to help you. However, most people these days are very lazy and can not be bothered to search manually through books when they can easily type what they want in Google and find what you want in seconds, literally. All the information you need is just one click away...

Sadly, over the years I have become one of those people, I don't see the point in researching through books for every piece of information when I can access the majority of it online. However, I do believe that books are an excellent source of information, especially when using quotes from a certain artist or author.
As soon as I begin a new project I turn to Google to help inspire myself and begin to gather secondary research to help generate new ideas. Google allows me to ensure that any ideas I have aren't already out there and if they are I can begin to change and develop my initial ideas.


An excellent example of how Google has helped me out was recently when I was required to work in a small group to create a campaign for a new brand of make up that did not test on animals. I used the internet to research existing companies that we could try to re-brand and I also looked into products that are not tested on animals and their logos and designs.




Si Scott

I really like looking at design and thinking: that attention to detail must have taken absolutely ages.

Si Scott is one of my all time favorite artists, his attention to detail amazes me and i love his style of creating an entire image using swirls and curls.
As a designer it is your job to be able to interpret and decipher different information and have the ability to design and create their idea in a new and interesting way, whilst still being able to make the message clear to the audience exactly what the client is trying to portray. I believe that Si Scott's work is completely unique and extremely eye catching, I also feel like it appeals to a large target qudience because it looks quite unusual and futuristic.

Rob Waller
“Documents need to
be considered in their
context: how they are
to be used and how
they relate to other
documents used within
an organisation.”
www.robwaller.org